Cleveland Cavaliers vs Dallas Mavericks Prediction, 3/13/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Dallas Mavericks

Date: Friday, March 13, 2026

Location: American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX

TV: KFAA

The Cleveland Cavaliers (40-26) are traveling to American Airlines Center on Friday where they will meet the Dallas Mavericks (21-44).

The Cavaliers faced the Magic and went home with a loss by a final score of 128-122 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Cavaliers ended up finishing with 22 while the Magic totaled 23 personal fouls. They also converted 12 of 35 attempts from distance. Orlando finished the contest at 75.7% when shooting free throws by burying 28 of 37 attempts. Furthermore, Orlando grabbed 42 rebounds (8 offensive, 34 defensive) and had 5 blocked shots. Orlando distributed 29 dimes and had 6 steals for the game. When discussing defending, Cleveland let their opponent shoot 51.8% from the field on 44 out of 85 shooting. They also doled out 24 assists in this contest while forcing the opposition into 6 turnovers and having 3 steals. When discussing rebounding, they collected 42 with 12 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cavaliers knocked down 17 of 26 shots for a rate of 65.4%. Cleveland ended with a 49.4% field goal percentage (44 out of 89) and buried 17 out of their 44 3-point attempts.

James Harden is a player who came through in the matchup. Harden shot 68.8% from the field and dished out 8 dimes. He was on the court for 37 minutes and also collected 5 rebounds. He accounted for 30 points on 11 of 16 shooting.

Get all of our NBA Picks Today

Cleveland heads into this matchup with a win-loss record of 40-26 for the campaign. They turn the ball over 14.2 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 19.8 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Cleveland is pulling down 44.3 boards per contest and has tallied 1,863 assists on the year, which has them ranked 7th in the league in terms of passing. The Cavaliers are connecting on 35.9% on 3-pointers (958 of 2,669) and 77.7% from the free throw line. They are averaging 118.8 points per game (3rd in the NBA) while hitting 47.5% from the floor.

On defense, the Cavaliers are forcing their opponents into 15.6 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 20.5 fouls. They surrender 36.8% on shots from downtown while they are 13th in basketball in PPG from their opponents (114.8). The Cavaliers defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 46.2% (2,717 of 5,875) and they concede 43.8 rebounds per contest as a squad. They currently rank 16th in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,760 relinquished so far this season.

The last time they took the court, the Mavericks walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 124-112 when they played the Hawks. The Mavericks collected 31 defensive boards and 12 offensive boards totaling 43 for the contest. They gave up possession 14 times, while earning 6 steals in the game. The Hawks earned 18 personal fouls in this game which got the Mavericks to the charity stripe for a total of 22 attempts. They were able to make 17 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 77.3%. With respect to shots from beyond the arc, Dallas knocked down 13 of their 32 attempts (40.6%). Overall, the Mavericks walked away from this one shooting 41 out of 86 from the floor which had them at 47.7%. The Mavericks permitted the Hawks to knock down 49 of their 95 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 51.6% for the matchup. They wrapped up this game 38.9% from distance via 14 out of 36 and finished the contest at 12 of 18 at the free throw line (66.7%). In the matter of team rebounding, Dallas allowed Atlanta to get 45 in total (13 on the offensive glass).

Klay Thompson ended up having an impact for the Mavericks in the game. He buried 8 out of 16 for the game for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and had 1 rebound. Thompson earned 21 points in his 28 minutes on the court and tallied 1 assist for the matchup.

Dallas has a mark of 21-44 on the year. As an offensive team, the Mavericks are hitting on 46.8% from the floor, which is ranked 14th in the NBA. Dallas has totaled 7,342 points for the season (113.0 per contest) and they collect 44.7 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 24.9 times per game (24th in the NBA) and they turn it over 14.8 times per contest. The Mavericks are committing 18.2 fouls per contest while shooting 74.4% from the charity stripe.

The Dallas defense gives up 34.1% on three-point shots (805 of 2,362) and opponents are connecting on 77.3% of their free throw attempts. They allow 27.8 dimes and 46.8 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 26th and 27th in basketball. The Mavericks are ranked 23rd in the league in points per game surrendered with 117.8. They are forcing 13.1 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.0% from the field (16th in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Cleveland

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get NBA picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.